The Trials
by calliopeslytherin
Summary: What if Harry could forfeit his position as Hogwarts Champion in the Triwizard Tournament? Time-Turner fic. Also, spookdoder challenge fic! Non-Cursed Child compliant.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't claim ownership over the Wizarding World or any other of J.K. Rowling's creations.**

Chapter One:

"Can't let him go through with it." The wizard stood in his office before pacing and eventually plopping down into his chair, tapping the end of his quill on a piece of parchment. He had weighed the options, even asked Hermione what she thought. However, with her position in the legal department of the Ministry, she had to discourage the very notion of what he was about to do. Nonetheless, he had to leave a note.

 _Hermione, I'm really sorry but I had to do it. If anything should go wrong, find me at Hogwarts. I don't have much time. Goodbye._

He underlined the word 'time' twice before manually locking his office, then putting up wards. After everything was secure, he strode over to the bookshelf and pulled a small chest out from the middle row. He whispered, "electi maleficus" and there was a scraping sound followed by a click as the chest popped open. It was empty, or so the wizard intended any prying eyes to assume as much.

He pressed his finger into one of the corners so the wooden piece creaked and, as he released it, the piece flipped up revealing a secret compartment. It was an old muggle trick he had picked up during his time at Hogwarts. The faintest glint of gold glimmered and he slipped his fingers around the fine chain, pulling out the very illegal magical item.

Only in case of emergency, he told himself. Well, this certainly was an emergency. He donned the necklace and started fidgeting with the dials.

He screwed his face, thinking back to the exact moment in which to travel. "November… 20… 23rd…? November 24th!" His mind was flooded with the memory of dragons, Rita Skeeter's tiresome articles, and a wandering eye. When the moment was fixed, he could feel himself flying backwards and his office disappearing into darkness. It felt like eons before ground solidified beneath his feet.

He was at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, just yards away from the great big tent pitched for the Four Champions. He placed a concealment charm on himself before slowly inching closer to the tent until he could hear what was happening. A 14-year-old Harry was already inside, probably fidgeting he chuckled to himself, as Ludo Bagman began his announcement of the First Task. Moments later, Ludo and young Harry walked outside of the tent for some privacy.

In just a few minutes, Ludo would rush off and leave Harry. Sweat dripped down his brow in anticipation. Just a bit longer, he told himself as he watched. The window of time he had was so minuscule, he would have to use the strongest force of magic concealment.

Finally, Ludo hurried off. Before Harry could turn the corner of the tent, the older wizard Stupefied the younger wizard. He rushed to catch him before he fell to the ground and created a disturbance. He used a transfer spell to cloak him from the eyes of any passerby, and carried the young wizard deep into the forest.

When he reached a hollowed thicket, he dragged the boy's body inside and revived him. He didn't stir at first, so the older wizard muttered a spell causing water to splash into the boy's face. Harry coughed and sputtered, lifting himself to a sitting position.

"What happened?" He rubbed his eyes and brought his glasses back to his face. When he saw the man staring down at him, he tilted his head. "Who're you?" He then looked around curiously. "Where am I?"

He chuckled, "I'm sure you're familiar with the Forbidden Forest." Harry looked around more frantically. Sounds of a cheering crowd echoed into the thicket. "Relax, I'm helping you." Harry looked at him cautiously.

"Not to be rude, but nothing good has ever come from strangers helping me." The older wizard laughed.

"You mean, like Dobby?" Harry nodded before narrowing his eyes.

"How do you know-?"

"I have a lot to explain and not a lot of time." The wizard looked down at his watch and up at Harry again. "C'mon." The younger wizard didn't move. "Just trust me." He pleaded with the boy, who looked skeptical but sighed following the older wizard out of the thicket and into the open forest.

"I have to restore the concealment charm, but as soon as we make it to the castle, we'll be in the clear." The wizard did the enchantments and they headed out of the forest.

"Exactly how do I know you're not going to try to kill me?" The wizard didn't reply to Harry's annoyance. "You're not a Death Eater?" He pressed on, as they walked across the grass and up towards the entrance. The wizard lifted his sleeves, without turning to look at the boy. He seemed satisfied with the evidence.

When they entered the castle, the older wizard led the boy towards the library. He led them to one of the darker corners, finding a piece of parchment and a quill. He scribbled something down that Harry couldn't see. He spun around and inhaled deeply before beginning.

"You cannot complete the first task."

"I think you'll find I have no choice. Least, that's what Dumbledore and the others have told me numerous times." The older wizard held up a hand, shaking his head.

"There's too much at stake. You must not compete in the tasks. There's a way to forfeit as champion." Harry furrowed his eyebrows at the man.

"I don't understand. Why hasn't anyone-?"

"Because it's dangerous. And painful."

"Can't be more painful than being burnt to a crisp by a Hungarian Horntail." Harry retorted. The man nodded gravely. "What could possibly-?"

"There's a ritual called The Trials. It's ancient, almost as old as the Tournament itself." Harry started to look worried. The wizard continued, "After you've completed the Trials, you must go straight to Dumbledore and give him this piece of parchment." He held the parchment a hair's length from Harry's nose. "He'll know what to do. If you do this, you'll be saving hundreds, if not thousands, of lives. You could be preventing a war!"

"Why don't you just give this to Dumbledore now instead of giving it to a complete stranger?" The man shook his head and smiled.

"You are no stranger." He stuck out his chest. "You're the Chosen One." Harry mouthed the words 'chosen one', taking the piece of parchment. He looked from the parchment to the wizard before him.

"Who exactly are you?"

The wizard tilted his head at Harry and curled his lips into a smile. "Well, I'm you, of course."

 **A/N: Non-Cursed Child compliant. I know it seems that way, but it's not. Also, there will undoubtedly be some consistency errors. I apologize for future reference. This is a challenge fic from user spookdoder, so fingers crossed!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything regarding Harry Potter. This is just for fun.**

Harry's face was expressionless, mouth agape. The older wizard grabbed him by the shoulders and leaned in close. "I am Harry Potter. The Chosen One. The Boy, though in this case, the MAN who lived."

"So you, er, I traveled from the future? But it's illegal to-"

"Oh, very illegal, yes." Older Harry agreed, his eyes wide. Younger Harry narrowed his eyes.

"How do I know you're really me?" Older Harry nodded at his younger self's doubt. He lifted his messy black hair to reveal his own lightning bolt scar, but that wasn't enough to convince him.

"You have a crush on Cho Chang." Harry stated, matter-of-factly. His younger self sputtered for a moment, shaking his head and muttering to himself. "It's ok, besides she likes you as well."

"She does?" Younger Harry's eyes filled with hope.

"Forget her for a moment, all right? I need your complete focus." Harry looked at his muggle watch. It was well into Harry's turn to get the golden egg. People would start to wonder where he was. Some may think he had lost his nerve. Dumbledore would be the only one to figure out the truth, he was sure of it. He looked down at his younger self once again.

"You'll start to feel yourself being pulled back towards the games so I'm really sorry about this, but-" Harry flicked his wand and muttered a spell. Dozens of chains emitted from his wand and wrapped around his younger self. "Next you'll feel the physical symptoms." As if on cue, the younger wizard yelped out in pain. "Ok, now this is important. Do. Not. Give. Up. Once you start the Trials, you must complete them. No matter how hard, how tired, how thirsty you get. You must finish it. If you don't… well, let's not think about that."

The younger wizard looked up at him with wide eyes, but they soon turned curious. It seemed as though the man before him was turning into mist. "Erm… you're looking…" He looked down at himself and smiled.

"Good, it's working." Older Harry stared hard at his younger self. "You must swear to do everything I've told you!" His voice was urgent, but fading. Younger Harry nodded. "Swear it!"

"I swear it!" But the wizard was gone and Harry was beginning to feel the most excruciating pain in the pit of his stomach, followed by pins and needles on his feet. He fell over, the chains pinching his exposed skin. He started to groan, trying not to attract Madam Pince, who he thankfully did not see on their way inside. He opened his eyes when he felt a violent vibration throughout his body, but everything was blurry. It was reminiscent of his ride on the Knight Bus with how bad his nausea was getting. Everything was fading, blackness taking over.

"Harry!" He heard his name being called before he slipped into utter darkness.

The first sense that came back to Harry was his hearing. The sound of drums filled his ears, until it felt like his heartbeat was synced with the external noise. Harry opened his eyes, but everything was blurred. All he could tell was that he was suspended in midair. He was no longer chained and boy, was he thankful for that.

Harry blinked several times, in hopes that his vision would clear, but his glasses were gone. He looked down below to see he was in the middle of an island drum circle. Every other figure was banging on a drum, the alternates were dancing wildly.

"Where am I?" Harry called out, but the figures ignored him. The drumming quickened and the dancing become almost erratic. His heartbeat started to speed up, feeling it come up in his throat. He looked above and below, trying to find some escape, but there was none. _Can't give up_ , he reminded himself. _Think, think, think!_

"It'll only kill you faster." Hermione's voice filled his head. The memory of being trapped with his best friends in Devil's Snare flooded his mind. _It's worth a try_ , he thought with a shrug. He closed his eyes and started to focus on each of his body parts. He relaxed each muscle group until he was completely limp in the air.

The drum circle was getting faster and faster until everything stopped. Suddenly, Harry was plummeting towards the dirt floor. "Arresto momentum!" Harry shouted, but he hit the ground with a thud. He had only practiced one spell with wandless magic after all, and he didn't even get to test how well it would have worked now that he was pulled from the Triwizard Tournament.

He pulled himself to his feet and felt around for his wand, his glasses, anything. But there was nothing. He looked down and realized he wasn't even in his robes. He was wearing a strange mud-colored tunic, and forest green breeches. His feet were completely bare and now covered in dirt.

The figures, he saw, began to back away into the dark. Harry looked all around him until he realized he was in a cave. The only source of light was the fire pit that he nearly fell into. He wondered if this wasn't some sort of trick that one of the Slytherins had cooked up to humiliate him. Little did they know that he would rather be humiliated than be a Hogwarts Champion. He racked his brain for any type of draught they could have slipped him before heading towards the first Task, but he couldn't remember anything. Harry shrugged. Prank or not, he was going to finish this.

The cave started to shake and fill with whispers echoing off the dank walls. The blurriness and the unclear whispers combined drove Harry's head to throb. "What?!" He covered his ears and closed his eyes, but that didn't help. "Silencio!" He shouted, to no avail.

A throaty laugh bounced off of the cave walls, followed by a hissing voice, "Magic cannot help you here." Harry looked around to find the source of the voice, but he was alone.

"Show yourself!" He demanded, standing his ground and clenching his fists at his sides. The laughter continued, causing heat to rise in Harry's cheeks. He walked towards the cave walls and started to feel his way around, hoping to find an opening that his terrible eyesight might have missed.

"The only way out… is through." The voice taunted. Harry rolled his eyes.

"That's a fat lot of help." He grumbled, wondering if he had felt his way around the entire circumference of the cave already. Where did the figures exit to? He wondered. They must have gotten out somehow, right? He looked around, rubbed his eyes in a vain hope to see clearly and opened them once again, but there was no change. He growled and pounded his fists against the wall. "How'm I supposed to do anything if I can't see?" He shouted to the emptiness.

"Harry," came a familiar voice. Harry spun around and saw what had to be Hermione. That was her voice, her bushy hair, and yet, she was clothed in what looked like an early 1800s pale green gown.

"Hermione? Is that you?" He narrowed his eyes, but his vision was the same.

"Harry, you've got to look through this."

"I can barely see anything!" He retorted, annoyed. She shook her head at him.

"No, Harry, listen." She urged, "Look within, and you'll make it through." She started to disappear before his very eyes. Harry lunged forward, reaching towards her to make her stay. He was grasping at air by the time he made it to where she had stood. He tightened his jaw and frowned, before taking a deep breath. He looked forward and stared at the dank walls of the cave.

"What's your secret?" He whispered aloud, trying to figure out the game he was forced into. That's what it had to be, after all. _Trials_ , he scoffed to himself. As if by some miracle, the walls begun to solidify. Harry blinked several times and rubbed his eyes. When he looked at the walls again, he realized his eyesight had somehow improved. Before he had time to question the strange phenomenon, one section of the cave wall started to rumble and crack.

It took him a moment to realize that the wall was separating from the rest and coming to life. The rock creature turned towards him and revealed a stony face. Its eyes opened to reveal yellow, glowing gems for eyes. It opened its mouth and let out a wild roar. Harry stumbled back until he could feel the moist, solid wall behind him. The creature stomped one foot in front of the other, its weight causing bits of rubble to tumble onto the dirt floor. It was getting closer and Harry had nowhere to go.

Harry's nails dug into the wall behind him until the creature was inches from him. It bent before him until its eyes were level with Harry's. It opened its mouth again and let out a rumble, "Run."

 **A/N: Here's another chapter for you all! I anticipate a once a week update for this story.**


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